


anyplace is paradise.

by porcelainsimplicity



Series: stereo hearts. [5]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - America, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 16:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16329317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porcelainsimplicity/pseuds/porcelainsimplicity
Summary: i'd live deep in the jungle, and sleep up in a tree, and let the rest of the world go by, if you were there with me.or: Ben wants to move in together and Rey has a problem.





	anyplace is paradise.

It was the question that Rey had been dreading all day, and as soon as she walked in solo to the small café, she just knew Finn was going to ask it, which of course Finn promptly did.

“Where's Ben?”

“He's not coming,” Rey said, collapsing down into a chair at the table Finn and Rose had gotten for them right in front of the makeshift stage. “Don't ask me why.”

Finn rolled his eyes and immediately pulled his phone out of his pocket, no doubt to text Ben, so Rey turned her attention to Rose. “Can't you do something about how annoyingly nosy he is?”

“No,” Rose stressed loudly. “But this is a huge night for Poe, and I don't give a fuck if you two are fighting over something stupid or not, Ben should be here.”

“I tried telling him that,” Rey offered up, getting a stern look from the two of them in return. “I did!”

“What are you fighting about now?”

Rey flagged down a waitress and ordered a drink before slinking down in her chair and resting her head against the top of the back rest. “He wants to move in together.”

Finn and Rose exchanged a look before Finn picked up one of his chips and threw it at Rey. “You cannot possibly be fighting about that.”

“Yeah, well, we are,” Rey said, picking up the chip from where it had landed on her chest and flinging it back at Finn. “It's a stressful situation.”

“What is stressful about the man you're in love with, who loves you in return, wanting to move in with you?” Rose asked.

“He doesn't want to move in with me,” Rey said. “He wants us to move in together.”

Finn and Rose exchanged another look, this time a knowing one. “Rey, you had to know that you weren't going to live in that apartment forever.”

“My apartment is perfect,” Rey spit out at Finn. “Shut up.”

“It's tiny as shit,” Rose said. “It's eleven floors up. Your bed barely fits in the bedroom, and your bed is not that big. The closet doesn't even hold all of your clothes. There is definitely no room for you and Ben in there.”

“There has been plenty of room for me and Ben in there for the last eighteen months, thank you very much,” Rey proclaimed, crossing her arms over his chest. “There's plenty of room for us now too.”

The waitress came back with Rey's drink and Rey quietly thanked her before bring the glass to her lips for a long sip. Finn's phone went off and he showed the display to Rose before getting up and going outside to answer it, which only could possibly mean that it was Ben.

“Are you guys constantly going to conspire against me?”

“No one is conspiring against you. We're just trying to stop you from making a huge mistake.”

“I'm not!” Rey said, having some more of her drink. “It's Ben that doesn't want to compromise.”

“It is not, and you know it,” Rose said, throwing a napkin at her. “Wake the fuck up, Rey, before you do something really stupid and lose the best thing that's ever happened to you.”

Rey just flipped her off and nursed her drink, waiting for the time to come for Poe to take the stage.

*****

The poetry reading before Poe's set was going on when the chair next to Rey slid out from under the table and Ben sat down in it. He didn't even bother looking at Rey, just reached across the table and said hello to Finn and Rose. Rey huffed and turned her chair towards the stage so that her back was to Ben, then froze when Ben's hands landed on her shoulders and squeezed lightly.

“Hello, love,” Ben whispered, pressing a soft kiss underneath Rey's ear, and dammit, Rey hated being angry with him. “Can we go outside and talk?”

“What's there to talk about?” Rey hissed in return. “You made yourself perfectly clear this morning.”

Ben just squeezed her shoulders again. “Come outside with me.”

And then Ben was gone and Rey was still sitting there and she could feel Finn and Rose's eyes on her and fine, she was going outside but it wasn't because of any reason other than the fact that she wanted to.

Ben was sitting at one of the café's patio tables when Rey walked outside, and she made her way over and sat down across from him. “What do you want?”

“Rey, I realize that you have an attachment to your apartment. But can you please try to realize that if we're going to combine the contents of your apartment and my apartment into one apartment, we're going to have to do it in one that's bigger than either of ours?”

“We live in my place just fine.”

“No, we don't. I don't live in your apartment. I have a drawer full of clothes and a stack full of records. That's it.”

“I thought you liked my apartment.”

“I do. But we can't both live in your apartment.”

Rey sighed and slumped down in her chair. “You don't understand, Ben. That apartment is my independence. That apartment is my everything.”

“Yeah, well, maybe it's time for you to decide which is more important to you. Your apartment or me?”

Ben got up and walked back into the café, but Rey just sat there, her heart pounding in her chest, unable to believe that she could possibly be on the verge of losing Ben over this.

*****

“Rey?” Finn's calm voice came up from behind her, and then Rey felt the gentle hand on her shoulder. “Rey, it's raining. Come inside. Poe's set started a few minutes ago.”

“I'm going to lose him, aren't I?”

Finn crouched down next to the chair and wiped wet hair out of Rey's eyes. “I won't lie to you, Rey. Yes.”

“I don't want to lose him, Finn.”

“I know,” Finn said softly. “Come inside and tell him that.”

Rey let Finn haul her up out of the chair and lead her to the café door, and they'd just walked inside when Poe's voice hit Rey from the stage.

“I'm going to bring a friend up here to help me out on this next song. Ladies and gentlemen, Ben Solo!”

Rey froze in place and watched as Ben climbed up on stage, giving Poe a quick hug before taking his place in front of the microphone. “This is for a certain someone, and they know who they are.”

And then Poe started playing guitar, and the notes hit Rey like a ton of bricks. She knew this song, and she knew it well, because it was one of Ben's favorites. One of Ben's favorite Elvis Presley songs. Off of _Elvis_. “This is called _Anyplace is Paradise_.”

“Whether you're riding down a highway,” Poe began to sing. “Or walkin' down a street. It makes no difference, baby, I'm gonna love you just as mean. 'Cause holdin' your little hand makes me feel so very nice. Anyplace is paradise when I'm with you.”

Finn was staring at her trying to figure out what this was supposed to mean, but Rey just ignored him as Ben started to sing.

“Whether we're standin' on a doorstep, or sittin' at a park, or strollin' down shady lane, or dancin' in the dark. Well, I can take you in my arms, and look into your pretty eyes. Anyplace is paradise when I'm with you.”

“Rey?”

“Shh.”

“Give me a cave up in the mountain,” Ben and Poe sang together, “or a shack down by the sea, and I will be in heaven, honey, if you are there with me. I'll kiss your pretty lips, see the love-light in your eyes. Anyplace is paradise when I'm with you.”

Rey walked forward towards the stage, her eyes meeting Ben's as she sang along with them to the end of the song. “Baby, I'd live deep in the jungle, and sleep up in a tree, and let the rest of the world go by, if you were there with me. Well I could love you all the time. Baby, a jungle would be fine. Anyplace is paradise when I'm with you.”

The song came to an end, and the café went up in applause, which Ben and Poe responded to by taking a bow. Ben climbed down off the stage and walked straight to Rey, grabbing her by the hand and bringing her to the table where Rose was sitting with a knowing look on her face. Rey sat down in her chair and slid it back so she could be close to Ben, and Ben leaned forward and rested his chin on Rey's shoulder, and they watched the rest of Poe's set in peace.

*****

When the night was over, Rey pulled Ben close and told him she'd pick him over her apartment any day. They started looking for a new place that weekend, found one within a couple of weeks, and even though Rey got very nostalgic on the day they moved her stuff out of her old apartment, she had a new motto to live by, and said as much to Ben. “Anyplace is paradise when I'm with you.” 


End file.
